Novato City Council OK's Lean, Mean Budget of $29.9 Million

Fresh Draconian cuts required to balance the Novato city budget the past few years were not required this year. That’s not because the economy has turned around and everything’s peachy; it’s because the cuts approved in 2009 and 2010 were long-range prunings that effect budgets for years down the line. The heavy lifting had already been done, as several Novato City Council members said Tuesday night at .

But approving the $29.9 million general fund operating budget for 2011-12 was just as painful as those of the past few years, according to the council members and city staff who last week bid goodbye to several laid-off employees. Fifteen positions were axed for 2011-12, and $470,000 was tapped from reserves to end up with a state-required balanced budget.

“We had to pass this budget,” Mayor Madeline Kellner said. “I don’t think we had a choice. We had to look at ways to be sustainable. Within five years we need to be at a sustainable level no matter what comes our way … We’ve got a problem here and we need to solve it together.”

The council voted to accept the budget proposals set forth by city staff for the general fund, the Novato Redevelopment Agency and the Novato Public Finance Authority. All were passed by votes of 4-1 with Councilwoman Pat Eklund voting no.

“The reason I voted no is for the same reason as last year — because we’re cutting the police budget,” Eklund said. “Cutting back to the number of sworn officers we had in the 1990s is not in the best interest of the community.” She added that anytime there is a vacancy in any city department scheduled to be filled, she’d like the council to weigh that against adding another police officer.

The has 55 sworn officers now with the elimination of one lieutenant position, one sergeant position and one resource officer position. The force also lost a records specialist as part of the non-sworn cuts. The funding setback comes at a time when there is heightened public concern about crime in Novato.

As it stands, 51 percent of the city’s expenditures ($11.77 million) will go to police for 2011-12. The next biggest portions are 20 percent for public works ($4.64 million and 9 percent for citywide programs ($2 million).

In the big picture, pushing away the department-by-department breakdown, 49 percent of expenses will go to staff salaries ($14.6 million) and 20 percent to employee benefits ($6 million). The general fund operating expenses of $29.9 million are about $300,000 less than last year.

The economic struggles and resulting cutbacks can be pinpointed to sagging revenues from sales taxes and property taxes. Since 2007-08, the city has sliced $16.5 million from its annual general fund budget mostly from job cutting — 51.79 full-time equivalent positions.

Measure F, the five-year, half-cent sales tax increase approved by voters in November 2010, is basically a handy bandage to stem the hemorrhaging but not a long-term solution, staff said. It will generate $3 million to $3.3 million for the coming fiscal year, said Assistant City Manager Cathy Capriola, and those funds prevent the city from having to make more layoffs or consider closing facilities such as the and the .

Councilwoman Carole Dillon-Knutson said this was an important budget to pass despite that many programs she and other council members helped start years ago have now been eliminated.

“It’s sad to see the loss of programs and the loss of our people,” she said, echoing the sentiment of her cohorts. “It makes me sad to think that the friendly faces who smiled and greeted me are no longer there. It’s hard for the community because we’ll have less in services and less things we can do.”

Councilwoman Denise Athas gave an appreciative nod to union employees who accepted $625,000 in compensation concessions — “I do not think that should go unrecognized,” she said — and Councilwoman Jeanne MacLeamy commended citizens who stepped up and raised funds to save the and the Novato Independent Elders Program. She made special mention of the city’s department, which suffered the biggest departmental reduction of all, 33 percent, over the past two years.

Kellner said fiscal sustainability is critical to Novato’s future.

“We have a five-year fix, but five years goes by quickly,” she said. “We have a long-term plan. I, too, wish we didn’t have to make cuts in the police department and all those departments that took hits, but unless we have a solution I don’t think we have a choice. But the good thing is that I think we’ve shown we’re not inflexible. We backed up and took another look and made adjustments. … So we’ll close this (budget) out and then roll up our sleeves and get to work on the ones to come.”

For city documents associated with 2011-12 budget, click here. To sign up for e-mail notifications from the city, click here.